Darcy Chooses - Part 1

Darcy and Elizabeth #1

by Gianna Thomas

First Novel in the DARCY AND ELIZABETH SERIES (Part 1 of 2 parts)

> An Accident, a Chance Meeting, a Dance and Romance . . . But Will Darcy Win Elizabeth? <

What if Elizabeth Bennet met Fitzwilliam Darcy before the Meryton Assembly?

What if she heard Darcy's insulting comment at the Assembly?

What if he apologized at that ball?

What if they rubbed along for a while until Lizzy's pride and temper got in the way?

And what if Wickham falls in love for the first time in his profligate life? What will he do, and how will he react when the young woman doesn't return his feelings?

Pride and Prejudice: Darcy Chooses is about innocent young couples - Darcy and Elizabeth and Bingley and Jane - and the feelings that love evokes and how they handle those feelings. It even takes a brief look at several married couples: Why is there little affection between Thomas and Fanny Bennet? How have the Gardiners grown in their love for one another? And what will happen to the Hursts' marriage? It is a realistic look at relationships that very well may have readers taking a closer look at their own marriages.

Add the Wicked Wickham to the mix and what do you have? You have a tale of friendships, love lost, love gained and the angst of everyday life in Regency England.

Here is a brief preview:

"Caroline, I don't care if you want to be fashionably late or not. You need to hurry up as we are already late about a quarter hour," Bingley shouted. He was eager to get to the assembly and was looking forward to meeting new people, especially some of the pretty women that he had heard lived in the area. Caroline was not trying to be fashionably late; she wished to be the center of attention from all the other attendees. Being late allowed that to happen, and Charles Bingley realized that Caroline would get her wish.

Bingley, Darcy and the Hursts had been waiting for several minutes when Caroline deigned to appear. She wore the latest fashionable gown, but the orange color clashed a bit with her red hair. Caroline was oblivious to that fact and came down the stairs with a superior expression on her face and ostrich feathers in her hair matching the color of her gown.

"At last," remarked Bingley hustling them into the carriage. Caroline just smiled because she knew that all of them would receive the attention she felt that they deserved this evening.

***

All the party realized that they were probably the last attendees to arrive as no other carriages were behind them. Each of the party descended from the carriage and proceeded up the steps to the assembly room.

"Louisa, the place even has an odor to it," whispered Caroline to her sister with a sneer and wrinkling her nose. Louisa refrained from answering, gave her cape to the footman and took her husband's arm. When all had divested themselves of coats and capes, they stood in the entrance to the assembly room. Although, a dance was in full swing, when their party appeared, the band ceased playing and the dancers stopped dancing. And everyone stared. Caroline was pleased and gave one and all a haughty stare as they proceeded into the room with Mr. Darcy in the lead. It was no matter to her if her dress was too fancy for a local assembly; she wanted to make sure that she outshone all of the other attendees, most especially, the women.

The other attendees were not sure what to make of the party. The tall man in the lead had a harsh demeanor, the handsome young man behind him had a smile from ear to ear, the ladies looked very haughty and the man with one of the women just looked bored.

Genres: Regency

269 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2014

About the author

Gianna has been in love with Historical Romance/Mysteries, and especially Regency Romance, for many years. But it wasn’t until 2013 that she started writing in this genre.
Gianna discovered Pride and Prejudice, and its many variations, what ifs and fan fiction. She was totally fascinated by the variety of plots that eager authors had utilized. After reading several of these fascinating books, she realized why others loved them and Jane Austen’s books so well.

Gianna was aware of the storyline of Pride and Prejudice after reading it many years ago and seeing the 1940’s movie as well as the 2005 movie with Keira Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen. She loved the 2005 movie and the musical score. Yes, the movie wasn’t 100% accurate, but isn’t the goal to entertain and touch the heart? And this movie touched her heart and helped her to appreciate more the talent of Jane Austen.

Rereading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has given her greater insight into Ms. Austen’s genius in depicting different personalities and situations and the society of her day. As a mature adult, Gianna sees much more in her books now than ever before.

After reading nearly 200 variations and fan fictions, Gianna now had P&P plots running through her head. She finally decided that they needed to be put to paper (today, on the computer), to see how they would develop. She is having an absolute ball in writing about Darcy and Elizabeth and is pleased with how things are developing. Her goal is to entertain and touch hearts. Hopefully, with her first rendering 'Darcy Chooses', she achieved that goal and touched your heart also.

More recently, Gianna started looking beyond Pride and Prejudice, with her first foray into Regency Romance generally, with The Four Lords’ Saga Series.

Gianna Thomas is a ghostwriter of poetry and e-books who became a widow after twenty-two years with her very own Mr. Darcy, who was her second husband. She lives a quiet life in a small Illinois town with her cats and loves to read regency romance, Jane Austen’s works and the many variations done by other lovers of Pride and Prejudice.

Learn more about Gianna and her Historical Romance writings on her website at www.giannathomasauthor.com and on her page at Amazon Author Central at https://www.amazon.com/author/giannat....

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story continues from 'Attending a Ball' as Darcy and Elizabeth meet again at the Meryton Assembly. But will the result be different. We discover a bit more of the private lives of the Bennets and Hursts. Obviously not everything runs smoothly for Darcy and Charles Bingley. Can either have a happy ending.
The three star rating comes because I liked the portrayal of the bad Wickham and Caroline Bingley.

[Sheila Majczan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was offered a free copy of this book by the author with only a request for a review. Having read the 2 prequels I was aware of the premise for this book and I was also aware that this was the first of 2 books.

This author relates a very detailed story. Day to day happenings are told as to leave nothing to conjecture. This story is well written in that I only noticed two missing words. The artwork included with my copy of the story was quite lovely.

This story takes up immediately after the two prequels end but note that the ends of both prequels are overlapping/identical events, only told from different POVs. Darcy, in being forced to take "public transportation" when his carriage breaks down, is traveling the rest of the way to London with Elizabeth and her friend, Melanie. He pretends to sleep but is listening to a discussion of Mary Wollstonecraft's book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, by these two young women. We read his thoughts as Lizzy and Melanie express their opinions of their acquaintances in view of this author's treatise. Their discussion is interrupted by a terrible accident. Darcy is largely instrumental in rescuing the girls from the destroyed coach and then delivering them to the Gardiners in London. Both D & E think that is the only time they will see each other due to their different social levels. However, both begin to have dreams and thoughts about each other and ponder why.

This tale then goes on to relate how Darcy unexpectedly espies Elizabeth again, at the Assembly in Meryton, immediately after saying, "Bingley, I have no desire to dance with someone with whom I am unacquainted or who has found herself slighted by other men." At this point the story differs from canon. Darcy realizes she has overheard his insult and takes steps to apologize. So we have ODC starting out their relationship on different footing than in P&P. There are some similarities between the two stories but this story has more suspense, thrills, angst and even horrid twists. Wickham and Caroline are more evil than what we know of them in P&P. Lydia and Kitty remain true to their colors...silly, teasing and naive. They pay dearly for their ignorance.

Bingley and Jane, again, have a misunderstanding but the cause is of a different source. The Gardiners again take Elizabeth on a trip and, true to canon, Aunt Gardiner has some advice for Elizabeth. Plus some matters are straightened out (almost) while on this journey.

Collins makes his appearance. Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have a surprise in their past history and bring one to the present time in this tale. The Hursts are of a more loving nature. Elizabeth is portrayed as wishing to be the belle of the ball at Bingley's ball - this did not ring true to the Lizzy we all know but it is a minor detail. Lizzy's intimate circle of friends is expanded in this tale to include the local book store owner's daughter, Melanie.

I found this to be quite captivating reading. I skimmed through it for second time within five days as I wanted it to be fresh in my mind for this review. I can now recommend this as an enjoyable read and look forward to the "rest of the story".

[Charissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun Jane Austen-Pride and Prejudice remake. It is the same story, but with a more in-depth look into scenes and characters. Having read Pride and Prejudice, I still loved reading this version and found it well done. In fact, if you have a hard time with the Regency type language, this more modern version will be easier to read and enjoy (without being too modern). I found the more fleshed out versions of Darcy, Wickham, and Mr. Bennet worth the time spent with this book, and the scenes were done so skillfully that I could easily envision the story taking place. It ends on a sober, reflective note and is not the true end (this is part 1 of a set). Overall, I really liked the insights the author gave into these classical characters through the retelling of this amazing love story, and I look forward to reading part 2.

[InD'tale Magazine · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this retelling of the original classic, much is kept the same along the main story line.

Read full review in the 2014/2015 Holiday issue of InD’tale Magazine.

[Parinita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given this copy by the author in exchange of an honest review
Before I begin to review this book I have to say that I have thoroughly enjoyed the 2 prequels, Pride and Prejudice: Attending a Ball and Pride and Prejudice: Darcy and Bingley.I love the old English style of writing of the books which gives them a charm and really take the reader back into the era of Ms Jane Austen. The cliffhanger at the end of the last prequel was so tantalizing. I would honestly suggest everyone to read them too before getting to the main story.
The story picks up right where the last prequel ended. The thought of Darcy meeting Elizabeth before the assembly is a very interesting thought. I personally love the idea of it. It also sets a tone of what the situation of women in that era was. I didn’t expect the book to be illustrated! What a wonderful surprise!
The start is very action packed and Darcy as a man of action is very attractive. Of course this sets the tone for me about the fact that he went to London to find Lydia for Elizabeth.
After the explosive start the book slows down considerably and there is a feeling of filling up pages with repetitive words and the mundane daily routine. I wish a bit of this could have been chopped down to keep the pace set by the opening chapters.
The story pleasantly surprised me in a lot of places. In the long awaited assembly ball, for example, Darcy apologizes to Elizabeth and they become friends. This is a serious departure from the book. Neither of the original characters would ever contemplate such a thing but of course they, neither of them, had met the other before that fateful ball in the original work. This I found the whole very interesting and wonderful.
Oh Mr. Darcy smiles in this book and he has dimples! Love it!
What I do want to criticize about in this book is that a lot of sentences are repetitive. Like “Elizabeth smiled saucily” and “he is a handsome man”. Repeating it too many times takes out the impact of these statements. I would rather wish to read something else as I already know this from one description. Also Mr. Collins being repeatedly referred to as “that toadeater” even though funny is a bit immature on the part of Elizabeth. One more thing is that I don’t want to be told everything by the author. Most conclusions of situations have to be reached by the reader. I want to be shown not told of the feelings of everyone.
The ending was very sad. Wickham is properly wicked in this version. Lydia and Kitty didn’t deserve such a fate but again I love how Darcy takes care of Lizzy in this situation.
In all, I really enjoyed the story. It was a wonderful take on one of my favourite books and I will be waiting to read the part 2 of this story and hope that Wickham gets what he deserves! The story kept me gripped throughout and I am hoping for a happy ending for everyone involved. I recommend it to all the fans of Pride and Prejudice and Regency romance.

[Katie (hiding in the pages) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, but it always takes me awhile to get into the story because the language isn't what I'm used to. Thomas's version is modernized, yet there is still the feel of the Regency era, which makes it easier to read.

I love reading various versions and spin-offs of the story and this one was great! There is a lot of emotion and depth to the characters. Darcy isn't as much of a mystery--I could understand him a lot better. Wickam was even more wicked than I realized in this story. Mr. Bennett made more sense to me, too. There were events that occurred that were different from the original and some things that were similar. I thought it was well done.

Content: a few mild expletives; a beating that was a little disturbing, but not too graphic; references to rape, sex (between married couples, but not descriptive), and mild kissing.

*I received a copy in exchange for an honest review*

[Mary Lou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yay something finally happens, but then the story ends abruptly. I like the story she is weaving but her chosen format of publishing has made the story choppy and a bit confusing. This one was better then the first 2 (which had a lot of overlap) but the abrupt ended really soured me. Felt that we were 2 to 4 chapters from the end to turn the page and discover that this book was done. Really hate finishing and waiting for 1 more book especially when it feels like the ending could have been fit in of they weren't trying to get one more book out of it. Who knows maybe she'll surprise me but I'm not expecting much but the happy ending in the next book.

[Barbara Hansen]

I usually enjoy the take off on Jane Austin's novels. The different spins and characters who get to have their stories told. In this retelling, Thomas ignores the story as Austin had told it. It was like watching a bad movie version. But that is not the worse flaw. She tells and does not show. An overall bad experience.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm such a Pride and Prejudice fan that I do fan fiction. I'd probably rate this one a 3.5 if I could give half stars. I enjoyed the twists, and I enjoyed the burgeoning relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy. Not sure I liked how truly evil Wickham was made out to be, and I could have done without all of the religious talk. I enjoyed the story, but felt the Epilogue was too trite.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun read!! This story is a rewritten Pride and Prejudice, be sure to read the two previous books. I got caught up in the story and couldn't put it down.

[Barbara Hansen]

Okay, I love Austen knock-offs. . . some more than others, this was ok.